Growing up I knew my grandmother had diabetes, but I never really understood what that meant. I mean I knew she and my grandfather had to watch how much sugar they ate, and had to monitor their sugar levels throughout the day. But wasn’t that just something that the elderly people had to do? Didn’t most people get diabetes when they got older? It wasn’t until my grandmother began to have kidney failure that I began to understand just what was happening in her body, and why.

You see, my grandmother grew up on a farm; they grew most of their food and ate a simple diet. Most of which was farm to table. However, as the times changed, her own family began to grow, and more processed foods became available, her diet changed. My grandmother had five children, four boys and my mom. Feeding a growing family with growing appetites on a budget that didn’t grow as fast as the family required some creativity. At the same time things like Wonder Bread and Bologna and American cheese were readily available, and cheap. Lets not forget Mayonnaise. Mayonnaise makes everything taste better, right? These ingredients were combined to create a staple sandwich in my grandmother’s house when my mom was growing up. Another staple was canned food. Canned food was an affordable way to keep food available without having to worry about it going bad before you can use it. However, these foods are all high in sodium, fat, and sugar. They are also not filled with many nutrients like vitamins and minerals. After a while of eating this way, the body begins to break down. It cannot do what it is supposed to do without the necessary fuel.

As an illustration, lets say you go to the gas station and your car is supposed to take premium gasoline. It has all the ‘nutrients’ your car needs to run smoothly and efficiently. However, instead of premium you decided that the regular is cheaper and more appealing, so you fill up your car. What you may not think about is how after a few weeks and months of feeding your car the wrong type of gasoline, your car begins to run more slowly, and less efficiently. Suddenly, the lights on your dash begin to blink, warning you that if something doesn’t change things will only get worse.

It’s the same with our bodies and food. Our bodies are designed to need certain micronutrients like vitamins and minerals, and macronutrients such as carbs, proteins, and fats. The food naturally available to us is designed to meet those needs. However, the American diet is full of processed foods, which are high in calories but low in nutritional value. So what does that mean? It means that the food we are choosing to eat does not have the vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients our bodies need to run smoothly. Instead, it has high fat and sugar content to make it taste good and last longer. When we choose to put the wrong kinds of foods into our bodies, or too much of a certain category of food in our bodies, the warning lights begin to blink: achy joints, inflammation, fatigue, dull skin, weak hair and nails. These are all signs that our diets are lacking something. And if something doesn’t change, it will get worse. In my grandmother’s case, when she was diagnosed with diabetes, she didn’t really change her diet. She had to go on medication and add things like sugar monitoring to her daily lifestyle, but she didn’t change the one thing that could have helped her the most.

Later, when her kidneys began to fail, she was strongly urged by the doctor to change her diet. She cut back significantly on her sodium intake, and paid closer attention to how much sugar she ate and cooked with. For a woman who’s pies have won contest and whose home was always filled with some combination of cookies and cake or pies, this was not an easy adjustment; but it was necessary. For my grandmother, these changes were too little too late, but that doesn’t have to be my story, or yours. Not all disease is preventable, but if you can help your body be strong enough to fight off what it can, wouldn’t you want to?

Even if you don’t have diabetes, chances are you know someone who does and can appreciate how important diet really is. If diabetes runs in your family, you are doing yourself a great favor to start paying attention to what you eat now, instead of when you have no choice.

Here are a few recipes from the American Diabetes Association website. This website has great tools to help you understand what you are putting in your body with the recipes they provide. When you click on a recipe you would like to try, the website not only provides the ingredient and instructions, but also the nutrition facts. Remember, even if you don’t have diabetes, it is still important for you to be aware of what you are eating. Your body is designed to heal it self and with the right fuel, you can help to delay and prevent disease today.

Quick Gluten Free Recipe:

Apricot Glazed Chicken

Get a sweet taste of spring with this baked chicken recipe! Pair this with brown rice and corn on the cob for the perfect spring/summer meal!

For the complete list of ingredients and instructions, click the link below:

Short on time this week? Throw this in the crock-pot in the morning and by dinner time you have a delicious and nutritious meal! Add your favorite taco toppings like tomatoes, beans, onions, lettuce, salsa, pico de gallo, cheese, or cilantro for a fun family dinner!

For the complete list of ingredients and instructions, click the link below:

This recipe combines stir-fried vegetables and perfectly broiled cod fillets for a mouth-watering dinner in under 30 minutes! Try substituting the cabbage and snow peas for your favorite stir fry vegetables for an Asian inspired dinner that is sure to please the whole family!

For the complete list of ingredients and instructions, click the link below:

Ashley Gonzalez is writing for PA HOME CARE of Lancaster. She lives in northern Pennsylvania with her husband Rich and their two beautiful daughters, Alana and Elise. We look forward to more interesting and thoughtful articles from her. She brings a wealth of personal knowledge as well as a degree in medical studies from Liberty University.

Piece by piece, dredge chicken cubes in flour, coat fully in buttermilk, drip off excess, and dredge again in flour and spice mixture, pressing firmly to adhere.

When oil is hot enough (when splashing some water into it causes it to sizzle, but it’s not smoking or burning) add chicken cubes and cook for 4-5 minutes, flipping in the middle, or until chicken is an even golden brown and crispy.

Use a slotted spoon to transfer chicken to a paper towel-lined plate.

Move all chicken pieces to a large bowl and pour honey sauce over the top. Toss to coat thoroughly and add sesame seeds.

It’s summertime, but that doesn’t have to mean all backyard grilling all of the time. For a light yet satisfying summer meal, try this recipe from the American Heart Association’s “Go Red for Women” campaign to create heart-healthy choices. Enjoy!

Sweet, Spiced Salmon from “Go Red for Women”

Ingredients

1 1/2 teaspoons grated orange zest

1/4 cup fresh orange juice

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

4 salmon fillets with skin (about 5 ounces each),

rinsed and patted dry

1 1/2 tablespoons firmly packed dark brown

sugar

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1/2 teaspoon curry powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon cayenne

Cooking spray

1 medium lemon, quartered (optional)

Nutrition Facts

Calories 187

Total Fat 5.0 g

Saturated Fat 1.0 g

Polyunsaturated Fat 2.0 g

Monounsaturated Fat 1.5 g

Cholesterol 74 mg

Sodium 388 mg

Carbohydrates 6 g

Fiber 0 g

Sugars 5 g

Protein 28 g

Dietary Exchanges: 1/2 other carbohydrate, 4 very

lean meat

Sweet Spiced Salmon

Serves 4; 3 ounces fish per serving

Preparation

1. Set the orange zest aside in a small bowl.

2. In a large shallow glass dish, stir together the orange juice and lemon juice. Add the fish, turning to coat. Cover

Soup is one of the ultimate comfort foods! It can be a tasty way to get more vegetables into your diet and, when eaten before a meal, may help fill you up on fewer calories due to its water and fiber content. Unfortunately, most of the soups available in the canned foods aisle are loaded with sodium. But it’s not hard to make your own—once you know the basics.

Soup, in my opinion, is one of the ultimate comfort foods! It can be a tasty way to get more vegetables into your diet and, when eaten before a meal, may help fill you up on fewer calories due to its water and fiber content.

Unfortunately, most of the soups available in the canned foods aisle are loaded with sodium. Once you know the basics of making soup, you can create a variety of different combinations. Read on for some tips on making your own healthy soup.

Most soups start by sautéing the “aromatic” vegetables like onion, garlic, celery, and carrots. Use up to a tablespoon of oil to sauté your vegetables.

Using herbs is a great way to add more flavor to a lower sodium soup. Add dried herbs at the beginning of cooking and fresh herbs at the end.

Add leafy greens toward the end of cooking, since they don’t need to cook for very long and it will help to keep them a bright green color. Frozen vegetables can also be added later in the cooking process then fresh, firm vegetables since they’re already partially cooked.

When choosing your base liquid, be sure to choose “low sodium” stock or broth since traditional varieties can be really high in sodium. Better yet, make your own stock with one of thesedelicious recipes.

You can also make really good stock by cooking a whole chicken in your slow cooker. Season the outside of the chicken lightly and add large pieces of carrots and onions and cook on low for about 8 hours. When the chicken is done, you’ll end up with delicious, concentrated stock. Strain and refrigerate it and the fat will rise to the top. Skim the fat and freeze your stock for the next time you want to make soup.

Soup is a great place to use up those last bits of fresh vegetables or leftovers. Combine leftover cooked grains (brown rice, whole wheat pasta), canned beans, and/or leftover cooked meat with stock or low-sodium tomato juice or low-sodium V-8 juice for an easy lunch or dinner for another day.

Fresh, great tasting vegetables make great soup. This spring and summer, stock up on fresh vegetables from your local farmer’s market or from your own garden and freeze them. These vegetables will make delicious soup and will give you that taste of summer in the middle of the winter.

Experiment! The beauty of making soup is that it’s nearly impossible to mess up. You can easily throw some ingredients together and taste and adjust seasonings until it tastes good to you.

Not the adventuresome type? Try this fool-proof soup that I like to make. It’s a great base recipe that you can add to with whatever you have on hand. Enjoy!

Add 2 cans of tomatoes (liquid and all), cannellini beans, and stock. Bring to a boil. Add pasta and reduce heat to a simmer. Cook until pasta is tender.

Stir in spinach and cook for 1-2 minutes until spinach is wilted.

Additional notes:
You can add other vegetables like chopped fresh zucchini or yellow squash. Just sauté with the onions. Frozen vegetables can also be added along with the stock in step 2.

Swap the spinach in this recipe for kale, Swiss chard, or whatever leafy green that you like. Heartier greens, like kale, may just need to cook a little longer depending on your preference.

Add 1-2 tablespoons of tomato paste if you have it on hand for richer flavor.

Jacqui Zimmerman, RD, LDN,is a registered dietitian at Lancaster General Health’s Wellness Center. She has been instrumental in the development of a series of three healthy cookbooks, a variety of cooking demonstrations, healthy shopping tours, and numerous presentations for a range of audiences. She is actively involved in the Education and Schools Action Team of the Lighten Up Lancaster County Coalition. Her experience includes working with people of all ages, from kids and teens to the elderly.

Make the cupcakes: Heat oven to 350° F. Line a standard 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners. Whisk together the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl; set aside.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the soy milk and vinegar; set aside until curdled, 5 minutes. Whisk in the canola oil and vanilla extract.

Whisk the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until just combined (do not overmix). Divide the batter among the muffin cups and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 15 to 18 minutes. Let cool in the tin for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Make the frosting: Place the chopped chocolate in a small bowl. Heat the soy milk in a small pot over medium heat. Pour over the chocolate (make sure all the chocolate is covered). Let sit for 2 minutes, then whisk until smooth and shiny. Let cool for 5 minutes. Frost the cupcakes and top each with a raspberry.

Here we hope you will find some good tips and recipes to help with keeping your lifestyle healthy. Here at PA Home Care we hope to help with encouraging healthy eating habits and support our clients with their dietary needs.

Try out the following recipe which we hope you will love as much as we do! Salmon is a great source of Omega 3, (the “good” fat) you can bake it, broil it, or grill it!

Sweet ‘n’ Hot Glazed Salmon

1 1/2 cups apricot nectar

1/3 cup chopped dried apricots

2 tablespoons honey

2 tablespoons reduced sodium soy sauce

1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 (3/4 pound) salmon filet without skin

Directions

Preheat your oven’s broiler, and grease a broiling pan.

In a saucepan over medium heat, mix together the apricot nectar, dried apricots, honey, soy sauce, ginger, garlic, cinnamon and cayenne. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer for about 20 minutes, or until reduced by about half. Stir occasionally to prevent burning. Remove 1/4 cup of the glaze for basting, and set the remaining aside.

Place the salmon filet on the greased broiling pan, and brush with glaze. Broil 3 inches from the heat for 8 to 12 minutes, or until salmon flakes easily with a fork. Gently turn over once during cooking, and baste frequently during the last 4 minutes. Serve with remaining glaze.

Serve with Brown Rice and enjoy!

At PA Home Care of Lancaster our goal is to provide you with “Care Beyond Compare” as we have been doing for the past ten years by meeting, and exceeding your expectations. Our Quality Care Assistants, also known as caregivers are happy to help you or your loved, right in the comfort of your own home. Meal Assistance and Grocery Shopping are just two of the many services we provide in order that seniors may age in place, at home, where statistics show most people truly want to be. Contact us today and let’s talk about how we may be of help; phone (717) 464-2006 or (866) 205-0348 or by email at PAHC@pa-homecare.com